Chapter Seventy Three

Macro refused to leave the lab. He sat watching the motionless human who, after having his requests ignored, had opted to switch himself off. Macro had been sat in silence for so long he'd almost forgotten DL was still with him. She'd returned to the computer chair, idly tapping away at the doctor's keyboard. The soft clicking drew him out of his thoughts and he sat back on his paws. A hefty sigh left his chest, drawing DL's perusing to a slow halt.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Macro shrugged his heavy shoulders. "Lousy."

"Well... I think I might have discovered something to lift your spirits."

He craned his neck around to look at her. She didn't meet his eye, instead looking past him at Switch while pawing her ear.

"I've had a search through my own files." She tapped her head then returned to her ear-pawing. "And all biological functions are kept in the brain, not fed through the computer itself. That means that they didn't remove everything from my mind."

Macro sighed and glanced back at the human. "What good are biological functions gonna do for him? They ain't his memories."

"I hadn't finished," said DL. "If you remember, I was forced to watch the whole procedure. He was made with haste. The date of my installation was several weeks prior to the finished product. He was thrown together in an afternoon, while you were recovering from-" She trailed off at the sight of his discomfort. "I'm sorry. What I'm trying to say is, Switch was rushed. There might be more stored away than it appears. Crammed back in a way that even he can't access."

"Either that or that Yobi guy has perfected his art over the years."

"There are mere months between myself and Switch," said DL.

"Well, the evidence that his work got out is creeping around in these walls." Macro waved towards the bug pokemon. "Each one has a computer in its brain, the only difference is they have no database like you and Switch do."

"I'm beginning to wonder who bought the technology off who," said DL. "Or who hacked who, to look at it in another light."

"Both lights are creepy." Macro hugged himself and turned back to Switch. "Well, whether or not he has some memories stored away, they ain't gonna be easy to crack open."

"Well..."

Macro really didn't like that 'well'. He swiveled on his bottom, fixing her with wide-eyed worry. She didn't meet his gaze, instead staring at the floor while obsessively tugging her ear.

"You see," she said, "that's where I come in. If I can connect to him-"

"What? Like some remote computer?"

"Exactly." She finally met his eyes. "I can search around in there and crack open any blocks I find. Make it easy for him to gather some recognition of who he really is. It could be anything, from repressed memories to what he had for dinner last week. But it's something."

"It's really that easy?"

"No."

Macro's heart sank and he slumped into himself.

"There are risk factors," DL went on. "I wouldn't be surprised if defences will have been put into place to prevent such things from happening."

"So there's a chance you won't come out of this unscathed?" Macro's voice was laced with warning and DL glanced back to the floor. "What are the chances you'll get hurt doing this? Will it be irreversible if you do, or just a headache?"

"It could be irreversible," she explained. "Defences are put into place in government computers that can attack and destroy an opposing computer trying to get access to classified files. That's why a good hacker is so valuable to those wanting that information."

"Yes, but for the hacker just their computer will get destroyed!" Macro snapped. "You're talking about a computer in your brain, DL! You could die!"

"I'm aware of that, but I'm trying to save Switch's life here."

"Right now, he's alive!"

"But it's not him."

DL's words froze the space pirate. He stared back at her, mouth agape as he processed what she'd said. He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath.

"DL, I don't want to lose you."

She stared silently at the floor, idly pawing her ear. He thought he saw the glint of a tear in her eye. The thought was too much to bare, but... he glanced back at Switch and closed his eyes again.

"I don't want to lose either of you," he said. "What are the chances you'll come out of this unscathed."

"Eighty percent," she said.

He sucked in a sharp breath and grimaced. "That means one out of five times you do this, you could get hurt? What are the odds you could die?"

"Five percent."

He shook his head sharply as Matrix's beaming face, raving about the five percent drops he'd gained five missions in a row in Alien Hunter, careened through his mind.

"Try not to worry." Her voice was soft, and he realised she'd moved beside him.

Her warm paw rested on his shoulder, but he couldn't open his eyes. He feared if he did, he'd start crying again.

"I'll do my best to be careful," she said. "For Switch's sake, I really want to do this. There's a chance I could help him, and I'm willing to take this risk."

Macro nodded stiffly and whisked his organic paw across his eyes. "Then do it quick. Before I change my mind."

"Well, first thing's first, I need a jack lead and this lab doesn't have one," she said. "I'll need the one off your ship."

He sighed and ran a paw down his face. "That ain't possible. Anchor's taken it to go and get those Ultra Beasts."

"Then I'll buy one."

She rose to her feet and he looked up at her, meeting her gaze. A questioning gaze. Of course. He reached into his pouch and handed her a twenty credit bill. Deep down, the selfish part of him hoped she wouldn't find one.

Once the door closed, he felt very alone. He turned his attention back to Switch. If DL was right, then somewhere deep inside him some memories might reside. Macro reached towards him and flicked the switch, prompting the same message requesting Socket.

"Socket isn't alive," Macro told him. "You're with me now."

Switch blinked a few times then shook his head. "I was made for Socket. She must be the first pokemon I see."

"Well that ain't gonna happen," said Macro. "Now listen. I want you to search that mind of yours and find any little pockets that might have memories stored in them."

"Memories will inhibit my primary function."

"Tollywosh!" Macro spat. "They'll enhance it. Get searchin'."

The human's eyes went distant, looking through the mawile. Macro sat back on his paws, watching Switch carefully. It seemed to take an eternity as every second ticked past, drawing closer and closer to DL's return. To her potential demise. If he could stop it, he would.

Suddenly, Switch's eyes locked back onto him, taking Macro by surprise.

"Search complete," said Switch. "No memories found."

"You searched everywhere?" Macro asked. "Everywhere?"

"Search is limited to outside the frostwalls."

Frostwalls...

Macro blinked a few times then flashed a canine. "Then break through them and search in there!"

"Cannot comply," said Switch. "Attacking my own database is prohibited."

"I'm commanding you to attack it!"

"Relay command code."

Macro stared at him, dumbfounded. What on earth was a command code? DL had never requested such a thing.

Switch turned away from him to look at the door, his eyes as empty as they had been previously. Just then, the door opened and DL strolled in clutching a brand new jack lead. She looked between Macro and the human and gave a small smile.

"Oh good, he's awake," she said.

Macro felt 'awake' was a very polite way of wording it.

"Now, if you don't mind," she said as she unwound the cable, "I'm just going to link up to you and have a little look around your head."

"Unknown computers are not authorised to link with Download Database," said Switch.

"I am a Download Database," DL explained.

"Incorrect. There is only one Download Database."

DL ignored him, reaching behind his head with the cable. In one swift motion, he flicked his arm and sent DL bowling tail over head across the room. Macro leapt to his feet, but before he could react Switch sparked with static and fell sideways against the wall. Both his arms jerked erratically.

DL dusted herself down and retrieved the cable, fastening it in place at the base of his skull. At Macro's bewildered look, she cleared her throat.

"Just a little thunder wave," she said. "He'll be fine."

She removed a rubber bung from the socket in her own skull and replaced it with the other end of the jack lead. All Macro could do was watch. His mouth turned dry and he dropped down beside her, reaching for her paw. It fastened around his just before her eyes went as distant as Switch's were.

"Searching files."

Her voice sounded normal, which reassured him. Not like Switch's, monotonous and void of emotion. The long silence that followed, however, washed all reassurance away. He clutched at her paw, willing her to come back out of her search quickly. Successfully. For the both of them to be okay.

"Encountered frostwall." Her words chilled him. "Running break code sequence."

Whatever that meant, it didn't sound good. Switch had said he didn't have the means to break them himself. Macro knew nothing about hacking, and with Surge gone he had no one to contact for a reassuring head's up. All he could do was sit there. Breaking the link might only risk more damage than the procedure itself.

"First layer broken," said DL. "Breaking second layer."

Macro feared his heart would stop. He resisted the urge to lie down, instead taking his computer from his pouch to give him something - anything - to distract himself with. He brought up Central Meta News, but it only served to add to his anxiety. The photo of Distortion's attack on Seed City remained the talk of System. It had already begun to spread towards neighboring cities, driving what was left of Binary City's inhabitants out of their homes.

"Second layer broken. Breaking third layer."

How many layers were there? He wanted to ask, but again the thought of interrupting didn't settle with him. He resigned himself to reading the article. Before he could even make it half way, DL jolted. He snapped his head to look at her. Sweat drops clung to the fur of her forehead and she grimaced.

"DL?" the words left his mouth before he could even finish thinking them.

"Third layer broken," she said. "Encountering memory flood."

He mouthed the words 'memory flood' and looked between her and the human.

"Withdrawing." Her voice sounded weak.

She lifted her paw to remove the jack and slumped sideways onto the floor. Macro scooped her up and pulled her towards him.

"DL, please speak to me." He wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of his paw.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a little tired."

He muttered a 'thank goodness' as he pulled her into him, brushing her fur with tender claws. A movement drew his eye to Switch. The human blinked a few times then reached behind him with a paw. His eyes widened with terror as he removed the jack lead, examined it, tossed it aside. Then his eyes went to the two pokemon.

"Welcome back, buddy," said Macro.

Switch's eyes widened again. His mouth opened slightly. Then his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he slumped against the wall, unconscious.

It had all happened quite quickly, but one thing was for certain. The look he'd given Macro wasn't just a lack of recognition. It was the look one gives when they're really not expecting something. When something is definitely not meant to happen. Switch hadn't spoken much about his time in the human world, but he'd explained that pokemon didn't speak a language humans could understand.

"Yeah..." Macro cleared his throat. "I guess we've got a lot of explainin' to do later."

...

Celesteela had been too reluctant to fly it solo recruiting other Ultra Beasts. Instead, she opted to follow Wildcard Gamma to the outskirts. It had been a long ride, given they couldn't use hyper drive for fear of losing their newfound ally.

Annie yawned and sprawled back in Macro's seat, her talons adorning the dashboard. "This is taking forever!"

"Then go and get yourself a snack," said Anchor. "It'll be another few hours yet."

She scratched her belly with her wing claws and frowned. "I eat another one of that cupcake's pancakes, I'm gonna be too heavy to fly!" She paused and glanced up at the ceiling. "Not that I can fly. But that's beside the point. I have plans to learn!"

"Well the rest of your crew is in the kitchen enjoyin' a meal," said Anchor. "I think you should join 'em."

"Want me outta your fur, eh?" She slipped from the seat and beat down her feathers. "Gotcha."

She gave him a pointed glare and raised a claw, but something outside the ship caught her eye. She leapt onto the dashboard, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the granbull, and pressed her muzzle up against the glass. Her claws splayed out beside her face and a long 'whoa!' left her throat.

Anchor followed her gaze towards System Ground. A huge dome of purple fire encased a huge stretch of land. Black and purple tendrils erupted from it akin to the chaos that Celesteela had wrecked on Pulse City. Chunks of earth floated around it, some still holding up buildings and twisted mechanical trees.

"Is that Seed City?" Anchor gasped.

"I guess it was." Annie put a lot of emphasis on the 'was', drawing an eye-roll from Anchor. "Man, it looks like a major trip-fest. Way to go on the decor, Distortion!"

The disgust in her voice made Anchor laugh and he gave the archeops a hefty pat on the back. "Imagine what it looks like inside, eh?"

"I don't really want to." Annie pushed herself back from the glass and dropped to the floor. "I prefer my reality not wonky, thank you very much."

"Hang on a sec."

Anchor's voice froze her on her way from the cockpit. She twisted her neck around to look at him and inclined her head on one side. He didn't look at her, instead fixated on the wreckage below them.

"Binary City looks a bit... strange," he said.

Annie hopped back up onto the dashboard to follow his gaze. "What's so strange about it?"

"Look at it!"

More wreckage. The purple tendrils didn't touch it, instead stretching out over the top of it in a weak net. The very edge where it joined onto Seed City was floating, drifting idly.

Annie gave Anchor a sideways glance. "You wanna go check it out, don't you?"

He shrugged his huge shoulders. "Kinda. But... it's a bit too close to Distortion for my likin'."

"Well we're goin'." Annie hopped from the dashboard and waved a claw as she headed for the kitchen. "Let's head down there prepared! We've got our guns, our Z-Moves and our new, ma-hoo-sive friend. We'll be fine!"

Anchor sank back into his seat and ran a paw over his face, letting out a huge sigh. Not only would Annie's crew likely rally behind her, rendering any reasoning he had against the endeavor moot, part of him did feel it would be a good idea to investigate. Besides... there might be an Ultra Beast lurking around there, and they did have to get all of them back home.

So he aimed the schooling wishiwashi towards System Ground, training it like a needle and thread through the fiery net. The closer they got to it, the more of Binary City he could see. Whatever had happened there had reduced the huge entertainment district to a ghost town. Every inhabitant had likely fled. Maybe there wouldn't even be an Ultra Beast.

Wildcard Gamma bucked as Celesteela blasted her rockets to aim herself towards the city. She gracefully slipped through the net and turned to face her bottom to the ground. Her cannons spat fire as she slowly lowered herself between the buildings. Wildcard Gamma wasn't far behind. It hovered above her and stopped.

"What's going on?" Matrix's voice caused Anchor to yelp.

His face flushed and he cleared his throat, brushing back his mohawk. "I forgot you were here."

Matrix wiped frosting from his lips and drifted into his seat. "Guess you want this in auto pilot? Why Binary City?"

"Curiosity." Anchor pushed himself up and reached for his gauntlets. "You're stayin' here. I need you to man the ladder."

He poked his head into the kitchen, exchanging glances with Annie. The archeops froze with a waffle before her open jaws.

"What?" she said. "It ain't a pancake."

"We're goin' on a little trip," said Anchor. "As per Annie's suggestion, I thought it'd be worth our while to investigate Binary City. Might come across some Ultra Beasts and learn a thing or two about this Distortion."

"You're kidding?" Trojan scoffed. "We're headin' out into the thick of it all? We ain't prepared!"

"It ain't the thick of it all," said Anchor. "It's the outskirts. Just... not the outskirts we were aimin' for."

Poipole poked his head up from Web's tail. "I thought we were going to recruit the kartana?"

"Well, System's huge." Anchor waved a paw. "Let's be a little more linear about it, okay? Either way, I'm goin' down there whether you guys join me or not. Matrix!" He nodded towards the cockpit. "You're in charge!"

"Oh boy." Matrix's voice wavered slightly. "Those are words no one ever wants to hear."

Anchor moved into the airlock and instinctively reached for a mask. Would he even need one in Binary City? The smog might not have made it that far. He'd probably be better off with his jaws available for a fire fang or inferno overdrive. He left the mask where it was and braced himself for the ladder to descend.

"So we're goin' in?" Annie appeared beside him and placed her claws on her hips, admiring the drop. "Bring it!"

"It's like you've got a jackin' death wish." Trojan sighed and pushed back his head fin. "I hope for your sake we find an Ultra Beast, 'cos if we're riskin' life and limb for nothin'..."

"It ain't nothin'." Anchor glared at him over his shoulder and reached for the ladder. "It's research. If we learn a bit about our enemy doin' this-"

The words died on his throat as the ladder dropped towards System Ground. The rest of his allies scrambled for the ladder, except for Waveform. The decidueye dropped and took to the sky, rivaling the ladder for speed.

"Tally ho!" Annie shot past them, wings spread-eagled.

Waveform let out a surprised hoot and took off after her. Her hysterical laughter filled the air and with a flourish, Waveform grabbed her by the tail in his talons. Just before she hit the floor.

Anchor landed beside them and shook his head. "You moron!"

"That was amazing!" Annie spread her wings and beamed up at them. "I almost flew! I wanna go again!"

"Keep your voice down!" Anchor hissed. He glanced at the buildings. "The walls had eyes in the mansion. These ones might have ears."

He moved past them, leaving Annie and her crew to gather themselves.

She fixed Waveform with a cocked eyebrow. "Was that a joke? It sounded like a joke."

Waveform pinched the bridge of his beak and sighed, moving past Annie into the city. She waddled after him, catching up with both him and Anchor. Web and Trojan covered the rear, the latter clutching his laser like a lifeline.

The entire city seemed lifeless. Not even a scrap of litter blew along the gutter. Binary City had a reputation for being clean, except for after major concerts. Even then, pokemon were rallied up and rewarded for gathering the most litter in a short spurt of time. It kept the city clean and welcoming. 'Welcoming' being a rarity amid System's type discrimination.

Now, the welcoming city was a desolate wasteland. Every turn of a corner brought nothing but rubble and a lifeless building. The culprit for the damage lay in the tendrils that hovered overhead, clipping the tops from the massive skyscrapers. The rest of the damage was yet to be understood. Nihilego? Another Ultra Beast? The mansion's attempts to land, cleaving through the streets like a rogue bulldozer?

A small explosion shook the air, and Annie bristled from ear to tail.

"What was that?" she squeaked.

Waveform whisked her behind him and a few stray bricks peppered the spot she'd previously occupied.

"I think it's that." Anchor pointed a claw.

One of the purple tendrils writhed, bringing down more bricks as it retaliated against a second shadowy explosion.

"I think someone's fightin' it," he said.

The granbull took off around the corner, followed closely by Annie and her crew. He skidded to a halt, eyes wide, as he almost crashed into the spindly culprit. He did a double take and stared back into the semi-translucent head of the most colourful Ultra Beast he'd laid eyes on. A ball of shadowy energy filled its right paw, but it fizzled out as it straightened. Then, it bowed with a flourish.

"What the-" Anchor shook his head sharply.

"Blacephalon!" Poipole shot from Web's tail, drawing the Ultra Beast's attention. "It's a blacephalon! You're from a different region back in my world!"

"My oh my," the blacephalon replied, his head flashing with a rainbow of colours. Just like Poipole's, the voice spoke in Anchor's head. "A little poipole. Well, you lot are a much more friendly bunch than the previous creature I encountered."

Anchor shook his head again and placed a paw to his temple. "Wait, hang on a sec... you can talk like this guy? Yet Celesteela can't? I..."

Celesteela's wailing voice sliced the air and Poipole twisted towards her, hissing a 'shush!' The purple tendrils writhed slightly, and the blacephalon side-stepped to dodge a tumbling brick.

"It would be advised to keep our voices down a tad," he said. "This wretched fellow has already claimed my friends."

He swiveled what served as his head towards the mound of bricks, and the sparkling lights inside his head turned a sombre blue. Anchor's heart sank and he took a cautious step towards the rubble.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"Some android showed up and wrecked the city, along with some ghost of a dragon," the blacephalon explained. "I saw them off, but not before they tried to suck me into another one of those portholes. My friends and I were already recovering from his attack, but then all this purple stuff showed up. A lot of my friends were killed. I've been burying them."

Trojan lifted a paw and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So let me get this straight. While the rest of System has been runnin' in terror from you aliens, you've been makin' friends?!"

The lights inside the blacephalon's head flickered with a rainbow hue. "Of course. My trainer taught me to respect all life. Some of my closest friends back in my world are very different species to me. Your races are no different."

Anchor beamed from ear to ear and stuck out his paw. "Then you're a friend of ours. Call me Anchor."

The blacephalon took his paw and shook it. "A gesture the pokemon here taught me. They called me Rave. I'd like you to do the same."

"Wait!" Poipole drifted before the blacephalon's head. "You let them name you? What about your trainer?"

"My trainer's name for me is something I hold dear," Rave explained. "But the pokemon here named me, too. At the end of the day, the name a trainer gives you is different to the one your mother gave you. Each name expresses how those who gave it to you felt. My mother would still call me by the name she gave me, as would my trainer. What about you?"

"She called me Poipole."

"Then that tells me she respects what you are!" Rave sparkled jubilantly. "The pokemon here saw I loved music and named me after my dancing. I liked it, so I kept it."

Poipole twisted his head to look at Annie. "This one nicknames everyone."

"Fantastic!" Rave ducked to look the archeops in the eye. "What is your name for me?"

Annie scratched her chin with a claw. "You kinda look like a big gumdrop. So... big gumdrop I guess."

"I like it!" Rave removed his head and span it around in one paw. "So... I've made some new friends."

"Good grief," Trojan muttered. "And I thought Annie was eccentric."

"I'm glad you think of us as friends," said Anchor. "Because we really need your help."

"Certainly!" Rave placed his head back so it was hovering where his neck would have been. "How can I be of help?"

"You said you fought off that ghost dragon and the android?" Anchor folded his arms and grinned. "Well, that dragon thing happens to go by the name Distortion. Or The Altered One, as Poipole described it to Celesteela."

Rave gasped and his lights turned a pale, icy white.

"You ain't gonna faint are you?" Anchor asked.

"No. Not at all. I just... hadn't put two and two together, that's all." Rave fell onto his bottom.

"Do you want me to go on?" Anchor asked.

"Please do."

"Okay. So Distortion's taken over the mayor's mansion, and in turn has also taken over Seed City just north of here. That's what all this is." Anchor waved at the purple fire.

Rave made a thoughtful noise as he eyed the flames. "I knew the fire was down to that dragon. But... I didn't think he was trying to take over your world. I assumed he was just another hostile mishap dragged into your poor world."

"He kinda is," said Annie.

"Well, I shall be happy to help remove him!" Rave leapt back to his feet and sparkled. "Now, what shall we do with the other fellow holed up in this joint?"

Anchor's face fell. "What other fellow?"

"The unfriendly one who gave me a hard time." Rave shrugged. "I only offered to help, but he blasted me with electricity and told me to, ahem... 'sod off'."

"All right." Anchor's voice came out slow and cautious. "Another Ultra Beast?"

"I'm not sure," said Rave. "But I've not seen one before. I've seen ones that look a little similar... but this fellow was significantly different."

"I feel like he's speakin' in riddles," said Trojan.

Waveform and Web nodded.

"Lead the way, friend." Anchor placed a paw on the blacephalon's back.

"Certainly!" Rave bounded along ahead of them, each step almost jubilant.

"Can I ask you somethin'?" Annie trotted beside him. "How come you and Poipole can speak to us, but Celesteela can't?"

"Oh, that one's easy," said Rave. "Poipole and I have spent a lot of time trying to communicate with a species very different to ourselves. So we adapted a method to do so. I'm going to guess Celesteela doesn't have a trainer."

He waved at the tall, bamboo creature. She returned his wave with a rather unimpressed leer.

"This is where the rude fellow is holed up." Rave stopped just mid-way down a narrow alley. He gestured to a cracked window. "Won't come out. That's how I managed to escape."

Anchor knocked firmly on the glass, shattering it. His face fell and he withdrew his paw, tucking it behind his back. He lowered his head to speak through the now accessible window.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

No response.

Using his gauntlets, he pulled away the jagged glass and ran the metal wrist guard over the edge of the frame. Then he vaulted inside.

"Watch out, there might still be sharp bits," he said.

"Ouch!"

He swiveled on the spot to see Annie sucking on a claw. "What did I just say?"

Heavy panting came from the corridor behind him and he turned back to face a wide open door. A shadowy figure lumbered through it, and as he stepped into the light, it reflected off his deep orange coat. Yobi narrowed his eyes at Anchor, but a slick sweat betrayed his exhaustion.

The sparksurfer raichu pointed a claw at him with his free paw. The other one was held down by a hunk of metal reminiscent of a vikavolt's jaws. Heavy metal armor covered his right arm up to the shoulder.

"You!" he roared. "You murderous... this is all your fault!"

"Hang on a sec!" Anchor placed his paws on his chest. "How is this our fault?!"

Yobi flashed his sharp front teeth. "If it weren't for your criminal prying, none of this would've happened!"

"If you hadn't designed an android that could open time and space, none of this would have happened!"

The raichu took a few deep breaths to gather himself, then waved his free paw. "It was a flawless plan." He tore his eyes off the space pirate. "And if she'd let me install a kill switch, it would have been even more flawless. But no... she had to be scared someone would intervene. Oh wait... she was right!"

"Our intervenin' had nothin' to do with this! You're the one who made such a dangerous machine-"

Anchor cut off as Trojan shoved him aside. The scrafty aimed his laser at Yobi and squeezed the trigger. Anchor swiped his paw, aiming the laser into the ground. It narrowly skimmed Yobi's feet, reflected back off some invisible barrier. The deadly beam struck above the window frame, cleaving a hole in the crumbling stone.

The pokemon outside choked on the dust, scrambling back. Debris filled the empty room, clouding out Yobi's form. Trojan swiped at the cloud and flashed his canines at Anchor.

"You moron! What do you think you're doin'?" he scoffed.

"We need him alive," said Anchor. "Only he knows how to stop that BackDoor!"

"So do I," said Trojan. "It's called 'scrap metal'. I built our ship out of it. All I need to do is flatten it out and remove the dangerous bits."

"And how do you plan on openin' portholes to send all the Ultra Beasts home after you destroy it?"

"It's no use," said Yobi. "Your only hope now is to find another world. Because when I get my paws on BackDoor, he's dead."

Anchor's jaw went slack. "Eh?"

"You heard me." Yobi hunched over as he gasped for breath. "Now scram."

"No," said Anchor. "Not until you tell me why you wanna dismantle your own creation. Aren't you wantin' to find the perfect world?"

"It doesn't exist!" Yobi hissed.

"What are you wafflin' about?" Annie scoffed. "You had all us hapless creatures dragged from our own world - to which I say thank you by the way. This one makes the one I came from look like a horror show. But nevertheless, little guys like Sticky here wanna get back home! So you did all that... for nothin'?"

"Shut up, human," spat the raichu. "I made BackDoor for her. So she could find her own perfect world, and I'd be going with her. But he killed her! So what's the point? I'm gonna destroy him myself, and if I can't I'll go down trying."

Anchor stared at the raichu dumbfounded. The exhausted pokemon dragged himself to his feet, staggering under the weight of the vikavolt weapon.

"Consider it a race," he said. "Whichever of us gets to him first gets the pleasure of dismantling him. I'll see you lot at the finish line, and end your pathetic existence then."

Trojan readied his laser again. "You're lettin' us live?"

"For now," said Yobi. "Someone has to put a stop to BackDoor, and the more pokemon there are trying to stop him, the smaller his chance at survival." A small smirk tugged at the scientist's lips. "Priorities. He falls before you do. Now scram, before I change my mind."

Anchor tugged the laser from Trojan's paws, much to the scrafty's protests.

"Leave him," said the granbull. "He has a point. Besides, there's more of us than there are of him."

He vaulted through the window and called for Matrix.